Unleashing the Island Spirit: Ground Zero to Understanding Informal Social Innovation in Cape Breton
I want to make a disclaimer: Although I travelled to Cape Breton to visit social innovators within the region based on my role as Director of Strategic Initiatives and partnerships with Inspiring Communities, the words and reactions in this piece are my own, and I don't react to the opinions of Inspiring Communities. If you want to understand the opinions of systems change within rural communities from an Inspiring Communities standpoint, please visit Inspiringcommunities.ca.
My reflection on my visit to Cape Breton has left me dreaming. It has me dreaming because as we talk about social Innovation, we rarely take the time to look at the rural or emerging communities. As I said, "I am heading to Cape Breton." folks had their opinions on the island, and they didn't centre on social Innovation. As a son of an island, I always say that islands, by nature of survival, create innovative people. As I arrived at Cape Breton, my sole mission was to seek understanding and become an ally of informal social Innovation that has shaped the island. For those who don't know, "informal innovation" looks at solution-based ideas that occur when things aren't planned or budgeted and, most importantly, stand on the sidelines of systems change.
A critical aspect emerges when exploring the potential for rural development through social Innovation: cultivating impact networks that collectively strategize to finance an ecosystem, foster community investments, and catalyze transformative projects in small, isolated regions. This perspective underscores the significance of nurturing social financing within the region, which fuels a burgeoning demand for social impact. From a systemic viewpoint, the future of rural development hinges on building capacity to foster informal Innovation and decentralize resources. A holistic approach considers three key factors: facilitating connections among changemakers and catalysts, the prevailing governance culture, and the environment that nurtures Innovation. Genuine systemic change occurs when these dynamics are balanced, fostering equitable governance and allowing the capital necessary for Innovation to flourish. In regions like Cape Breton, achieving this balance may be challenging, yet it presents a unique opportunity to embrace informal Innovation and ignite progress in historically disadvantaged areas.
Informal Innovation, what is it?
In the wake of decolonization and globalization, rural and isolated communities have felt the repercussions of economic downturns across generations. The impact of these shifts is palpable within our communities, prompting a closer examination of informal Innovation within the social landscape. Informal Innovation is best understood through a grassroots lens that empowers community champions through a bottom-up approach. With innovation capital often centralized, outliers must adopt unconventional and spontaneous methods to address complex challenges. Solutions born from local viewpoints bolster knowledge and capacity and foster a culture of collaboration and knowledge sharing beyond traditional institutional boundaries. However, our reliance on centralization has sometimes hindered localized growth and Innovation.
I witnessed firsthand the consequences of centralized approaches. Communities grappling with this reality have begun to explore avenues of self-empowerment. As we contemplate the future of informal Innovation, we must grant communities the freedom to explore the conceptual sandbox. Three distinct approaches have emerged to creatively tackle issues and tailor solutions to the unique needs of community economic development. I am optimistic about the potential to build a network of social innovators dedicated to overcoming the challenges that impede prosperity in our regions—paving the way for transformative change by harnessing the power of grassroots Innovation and community empowerment starts by understanding who is testing the idea of system change.
North Atlantic Connection: The Iceland Strategy, righting the wrongs
As I explored Glace Bay, I saw how generations of structured colonial industries have shaped a rich community filled with economic peaks and lows. What we dont realize about Cape Breton is the compound trauma of being forced into a rentier economic system merged with the lack of legislative representation (did not secure representation till 1820), which has caused centralized policy development that is the basis of modern-day Cape Breton. Since the end of the 1812 war, Cape Breton, or as it should be rightfully called Unama'ki, has the wounds of generational trauma that has caused its communities to struggle to build as a collective. The colonial bugs of former commonwealth colonies still showcase their roots. To combat this Glace Bay community, a team of social innovators, social entrepreneurs, and policymakers are trying to shock the system through an approach from another coastal community.
The Iceland Strategy
During the late 20th century, Iceland saw its youth as among Europe's heaviest-drinking youths. The "Youth in Iceland" model aimed to merge social Innovation, community development, and community wellness by focusing on community and parental involvement and providing alternative activities. This started by understanding the systems and collective environment needed to build, test, and ideate community-based solutions. Iceland's systems thinker approach emphasizes prevention and creating a supportive environment for youth. While the model may face challenges in implementation elsewhere, its success demonstrates the potential for a holistic, evidence-based approach to improving youth well-being, which impacts the collective community's sustainability.
As I drove into the core of Glace Bay, I saw why the community was adopting the vision of the Iceland Strategy and trying to create a Cape Breton-centric prototype. This project is a pioneering approach to merging social Innovation and community development in the heart of the downtown core. As a system thinker, I am interested in seeing how the community builds on this public investment and explores a collaborative upstream model to reduce risk factors and enhance protective factors associated with antisocial behaviours within communities. Glace Bay seeks to provide sustained opportunities for approximately 1600 young people annually, addressing the root causes of social issues. When I think of rural futures, this initiative is a prime example of social Innovation aiming to create a creative approach to community development that encourages sustainable economic development.
The Pitch: Revitalizing the idea of the Community Convening Spaces
Since the Colosseum, governments and the private sector have been promoting the importance of developing critical infrastructure designed to build communities. Although these investments have economic run-off benefits, we should revitalize their role within communities, especially in the rural context. The future of rural community development must blend economic growth, community cohesion, and, most importantly, an understanding of the community's generational traumas. Through IC's team in Cape Breton, I am interested in understanding what could happen when public investments in recreation can be used to build economic development and cohesion within rural communities. This journey explores how systems can be shocked to build solutions that naturally showcase the value that will foster social Innovation.
As Glace Bay prepares for its $15 million community centre, the conversation must be about how the region can build on this public investment to develop run-off benefits that connect communities like Whitney Pier, New Waterford, and Dominion. Examining Cape Breton's colonial history through the French, British, and Canadian Confederation reveals how centralization and extractive policy development have created a culture of scarcity. When looking at system change, I propose exploring a decentralization approach to community-based Innovation and what education and resources are needed to showcase this connectivity.
As I learnt more about the Iceland Strategy, the conversation always centred around "shocking" the system. Suppose we are looking at centring a physical space as that catalyzes. What does a change reaction look like through the island linking communities to critical infrastructure, resources, and, most importantly, the value of strategic foresight?
In our pursuit of progress, it is vital to recognize the consequences of centralization (especially in the modern sense of this federation), which has long overshadowed the contributions of rural communities. We are at a turning point, and if we don't support and encourage community-based Innovation, it will not only set us on a path to collective failure but also support the perceived disenfranchisement in Atlantic Canada.
Whether addressing transportation, food security, housing, or climate adaptation, the future of Rural Nova Scotia — and indeed, all of the rural communities in Atlantic Canada — rests on a paradigm shift toward encouraging municipalities, counties, and towns to adopt a regional focus on sustainable development and innovation. The key lies in educating our communities on navigating our colonial bugs and generational traumas connected to the Westminister system governance culture.
As I drove on the winding roads, I saw the prototyping of informal innovations sparked by grassroots efforts. The communities of this region have done this through the collective wisdom of residents, businesses, and organizations by unlocking innovative solutions tailored to rural communities' unique challenges.
This is truly the island spirit, and from one islander to another, I am excited and proud of the future of Cape Breton. Through the work of the Inspiring Communities team based on Unama'ki, it becomes evident that the future of rural community development is not a top-down approach but a bottom-up co-creation. We need to start encouraging a regional focus on sustainable development and Innovation; we can dismantle the barriers that have hindered progress and perpetuated inequality.
